by Brad Closson

Most people have the will to succeed, but very few have the will to plan to succeed.  Without a plan, most of our goals become wishes.  A powerful tool that can connect you to your goals is a personal business plan. (PBP)  Writing down your goals, putting a strategy in place, and developing an actionable plan allow you to map out your achievement instead of possibly stumbling upon it.  Creating a plan bestows a level of intention that dramatically increases your success rate.

Your personal business plan should include your networking strategy, your personal branding strategy, your roadblocks, your support team, your mentors, your personal vision statement and your education plan for the upcoming months.  It should map out your strategic partners as well as your key professional assets.  Since most of the information in a PBP is usually fuzzy and grey, the act of charting out these ideas can be extremely illuminating.

Another area the PBP should encompass is listing out the members of your accountability team.  Most of the time we are only answerable to ourselves, and we make it all too easy to justify missed goals or skip important milestones.  After you create your personal business plan, sign it and give it to five other people who are important to you.  Family, friends, mentors, and peers are good candidates for this personal board of directors.  Now that your plan in inked and you have signed and distributed it to your accountability team, your likelihood to stay on course has increased dramatically.

If you intend to thrive, then plan to thrive.